Regional autonomy as a counterinsurgency tool for democratizing states : case studies
from Aceh, Papua, and Mindanao

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Fincher, Taylor Scott.

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Thesis (M.A.)--Georgetown University, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references.; Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. Democratizing states, especially those with less wealth, suffer from institutional weaknesses that make it difficult to combat secessionist insurgencies within their territories. A possible counterinsurgency tool for these states is to offer regional autonomy to the secessionist areas as a means to accommodate some of the grievances of the insurgent group's constituents while still maintaining the state's territorial integrity. To determine whether regional autonomy is successful in curbing insurgent violence, the paper looks at three case studies in Indonesia and the Philippines. The findings demonstrate that regional autonomy is a viable tool in decreasing levels of insurgent violence, but is more successful under a certain set of conditions. The conditions under which a regional autonomy arrangement contributes to decreased levels of insurgent violence are: consultation with insurgent groups, military superiority of the state's security apparatus, and the presence of a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration process. A less wealthy democratizing state operating under these conditions will likely produce lower levels of violence when employing a regional autonomy arrangement as a counterinsurgency tool.

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